Instant Pot Sushi Rice Recipe
This 20-minute Instant Pot Sushi Rice Recipe is the easiest ever and turns out perfectly every time. The rice is sticky, tangy, and lightly sweetened – perfect for Easy Homemade Sushi Rolls or Smoked Salmon Avocado Sushi Bowls. This sushi rice recipe is quick and easy enough for anyone to make, even if you have trouble cooking rice.
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Why This Recipe is So Good
The Instant pot is the best way to cook sushi rice. Cooking rice in general can be a challenge, but if you have a pressure cooker, it makes it sooo much easier. The Instant Pot is my favorite way to make rice and sushi rice because it’s ready in only 20 minutes. No watching it on the stove, no water boiling over, just set it and forget it.
Sushi rice is so good that you want to eat it straight from the bowl. It’s light and fluffy and tossed with a lightly sweetened vinegar mixture. After the rice has cooled, it gets sticky, so it’s perfect to use to make homemade sushi rolls, sushi hand rolls, sushi bowls, rice balls, or sushi bakes.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sushi rice – a short grain Japanese rice that gets sticky when cooked. Any brand would work well for this recipe, just make sure it’s labeled “sushi rice”. My favorite brand of rice is from Lundberg Farms.
- Rice Vinegar – Make sure it’s unseasoned. Some bottles of rice vinegar come “seasoned” meaning it already contains sugar and salt. For this recipe, we are adding that ourselves, so we are looking for unseasoned rice vinegar.
- Cane sugar – Just a little bit to sweeten the sushi rice. It’s not overly sweet, just a bit to complement the vinegar and salt.
- Salt – Used to balance out the sweet and tangy flavors in sushi rice.
How to Make Instant Pot Sushi Rice
Rinse and drain sushi rice
Step 1. Rinse the rice in a large strainer under running water until the water runs clear. Use your hands to make the rice around in a circular motion so the rice doesn’t soak up too much water.
Cook rice in pressure cooker
Step 2. Transfer the rice to the instant pot liner with 2 cups of water. Mix until the rice is leveled under the water. Cover with a lid, and set the pressure valve to “seal”. Press the “pressure cook” button. Set the timer to 10 minutes. Then allow the steam to release naturally for 10 minutes.
Make the sushi rice vinegar mixture
Step 3. While the rice is cooking, in a small bowl mix together the rice vinegar, cane sugar, and salt, until everything is dissolved.
Stir the vinegar into the warm cooked rice
Step 4. Once the rice is done cooking, transfer it to a large non-metal mixing bowl. Sprinkle the rice mixture over the rice and using a non-metal utensil, gently fold the vinegar into the rice using a slicing motion, turning the mixing bowl after every turn. Taste and adjust for seasoning if needed.
Step 5. Allow it to cool covered tightly with plastic wrap. Now it’s ready to use to make all your favorite sushi rolls!
Tips and Tricks for cooking sushi rice
- Don’t let the rice sit in the water. When you are rinsing the rice make sure you move it around in a circular motion so the rice doesn’t soak up too much water. If the rice is allowed to soak in the water it can affect its cooking time and texture, becoming soggy, less firm, and sticky.
- It’s better to over-cook the rice than to undercook it. When cooking rice or beans in the Instant Pot they have a tendency to firm up as they cool. So if the rice is a little overcooked, to begin with, it will have the perfect texture once you are ready to use it.
- Use non-metal utensils once you add vinegar to the rice. Metal can interact with the vinegar causing your sushi rice to have a weird metallic taste. Which is not what we want! Instead, use a glass bowl or plastic bowl and a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula to mix the rice.
- Make sure you are using sushi rice. Make sure you are using short-grain rice labeled “sushi rice”. This is the only type of rice that will give you the right result. In addition to this, sushi rice has a higher moisture content, so it has a sticky texture which is why it’s perfect for making sushi rice. If you use a different rice variety you won’t have the same results.
- Add the sushi vinegar to the hot rice then allow it cool. This allows the rice a chance to soak up the vinegar, sugar, and salt, therefore providing a better flavor and texture. Make sure to cover the rice when you are finished so it doesn’t dry out.
Looking For More Recipes?
- How To Make Sushi Rolls
- Easy Smoked Salmon Sushi Bowls
- Ground Chicken and Cabbage Dumplings
- Chicken and Cabbage Fried Rice
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Stir Fry
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How to cook sushi rice in an instant pot
Equipment
- Instant pot or pressure cooker
- Silicone spatula or another non-metallic spoon
- Small bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry sushi rice makes 4 cups cooked
- 2 cup water
- 7 teaspoons rice vinegar unseasoned
- 1 ¾ teaspoon cane sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your rice in a strainer under cool running water. Use your hand to mix the rice around in the strainer so it doesn’t soak up any of the water. Rinse until the water is no longer cloudy, 2-3 minutes.2 cups dry sushi rice
- Then place the rinsed rice in the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Add the water, and mix until the rice is leveled. Cover with the lid and set the lid to “seal”. Set to the pressure setting. Cook for 10 minutes, allowing the steam to release naturally for 10 minutes.2 cup water
- While the rice is cooking mix together the seasoning ingredients- rice vinegar, cane sugar, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Mix until combined and the sugar and salt have dissolved. Set aside.7 teaspoons rice vinegar, 1 ¾ teaspoon cane sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Remove the lid, then transfer the cooked rice to a large non-metal mixing bowl. Sprinkle the vinegar seasoning mixture over the rice. Using a plastic or silicone spoon or spatula, gently fold the rice to mix the seasoning. Turn the bowl. Fold from the bottom upward to get the seasoning on all of the rice.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover tightly with plastic wrap to keep warm until you're ready to use it to make sushi rolls or sushi bowls.
Notes
Tips and Tricks for cooking sushi rice
- Don’t let the rice sit in the water. When you are rinsing the rice make sure you move it around in a circular motion so the rice doesn’t soak up too much water. If the rice is allowed to soak in the water it can affect its cooking time and texture, becoming soggy, less firm, and sticky.
- Gently fold the rice, you don’t want to be too rough with the rice because it can damage the grains and get mushy.
- It’s better to over-cook the rice than to undercook it. When cooking rice or beans in the Instant Pot they have a tendency to firm up as they cool. So if the rice is a little overcooked, to begin with, it will have the perfect texture once you are ready to use it.
- Use non-metal utensils once you add vinegar to the rice. Metal can interact with the vinegar causing your sushi rice to have a weird metallic taste. Which is not what we want! Instead, use a glass bowl or plastic bowl and a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula to mix the rice.
- Make sure you are using sushi rice. Make sure you are using short-grain rice labeled “sushi rice”. This is the only type of rice that will give you the right result. In addition to this, sushi rice has a higher moisture content, so it has a sticky texture which is why it’s perfect for making sushi rice. If you use a different rice variety you won’t have the same results.
- Add the sushi vinegar to the hot rice then allow it cool. This allows the rice a chance to soak up the vinegar, sugar, and salt, therefore providing a better flavor and texture. Make sure to cover the rice when you are finished so it doesn’t dry out.
